‘Focus on the food.’ Popular local chicken restaurant opens second Manatee location
Jaxx Wing Co. has only been open for a couple months, but it’s already turning heads on Old Main Street.
Owner-operator Joshua Hatch launched the new restaurant at 316 Old Main St. in September to bring his signature chicken wings to downtown Bradenton.
The Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York is generally credited with inventing the chicken wing. In September, Hatch says his wings passed the taste test with four customers from the Northeast.
“They’re like, ‘We’re not going to order wings, because we’re from Buffalo,’” Hatch said. “I said, ‘Listen, I will put my wings up against anyone’s. So order what you want. If you don’t like the wings, I will buy them from you.’”
Hatch said when the table left, they paid full price for their wings because they loved them.
Jaxx adds new dining option to downtown Bradenton
Hatch, a Utah native, moved to the Tampa Bay area four years ago. He bought Jaxx Sports Bar & Grill, 1035 Hasko Road, Palmetto, in 2021. At the Manatee County Fair, Hatch was serving from his food trailer when he spoke to Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown about a fast-casual dining option for downtown Bradenton.
“At that point, I had only owned Jaxx (Sports Bar & Grill) for a year and I was telling him, ‘Hey, I’d love to bring my concept over to Bradenton,’” Hatch said. “And I think the big thing for him was, ‘We don’t want, or need, another bar downtown. We need restaurants.’ So I took that to heart. And that’s how we decided to do just beer and wine only, and focus on the food.”
While the staple at Jaxx Wing Co. is their jumbo wings, they also offer other menu items such as salads, a burger that is handmade every morning and sandwiches including the Jaxx-Fil-A and Chicken Philly.
“The Chicken Philly is one of the things we cannot keep in stock,” Hatch said. “I mean, we’re constantly running out of the Chicken Philly. And so we’ve beefed up our ordering to be able to make sure we don’t run out of that now, but the Chicken Philly has been a huge hit.”
The menu isn’t limited, either. Hatch said they listen to what their customers want.
“If they want something, we will try it out,” he said. “If it doesn’t work for us, we will abandon it. But if it works, we will put it on the menu.”
Jaxx Wing Co. hours, menu and location
Where: 316 Old Main Street, Bradenton
Menu: Menu and mobile ordering options found here
Hours: 11 a.m.-11 p.m. daily
This story was originally published November 15, 2024 at 5:50 AM.
